Team India pacer veteran Mohammed Shami’s wife accused him of adultery and violence in a series of Facebook posts on Tuesday (6 March)

As BCCI released an upgraded contract system for Team India on Wednesday (7 March), Shami’s name was excluded from the list of 26 cricketers

BCCI informed that the move to exclude Shami from the list was “a safeguard in the prevailing circumstances.”

Shami came out on Twitter to claim that the accusations against him were untrue

The BCCI released the new category for Team India’s contract system on Wednesday (7 March), but withheld the contract of veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, after the 27-year-old cricketer’s wife, Hasin Jahan, accused him of domestic violence and adultery, charges that were denied by Shami.

BCCI withholds Shami’s name from the newly-introduced Team India pay-structure

Mohammed Shami’s name was not present in the list of the 26 contracted Team India players, released by the BCCI, despite of his starring role in India’s only Test win in the recent tour of South Africa. Shami, who is often regarded as a Test cricket specialist, claimed his career-best figures (5/28) in the second innings of the 3rd and final Test against South Africa.

This led to speculation about the reasons for his omission and a top BCCI official informed the Times of India, that the Board has held back Mohammed Shami’s name from the new contracts, owing to the charges levelled by his wife Hasin Jahan.

The new annual player contract system was announced by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) of the BCCI on Wednesday. While India captain Virat Kohli was named in the newly-released A+ category along with Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah; Mohammed Shami, did not feature in any of the categories.

Shami’s wife throws serious allegations on the cricketer

As reported by the PTI, a BCCI official informed, that the Board has held back Mohammed Shami’s name owing to the charges levelled by his wife Hasin Jahan.

“The BCCI has taken cognisance of all the reports emerging about Mohammed Shami’s personal life. It is purely a personal matter and the BCCI has nothing to do with it. However, keeping in mind that the woman in question has met the police commissioner of Kolkata, it is only prudent on BCCI’s part to wait for any official inquiry to take place,” the BCCI official said.

“Hence Mohammed Shami’s name, for the time being, has been withheld from the central contracts that were announced today. We would like to reiterate this decision has nothing to do with Shami’s merit as a player but it is a safeguard in the prevailing circumstances.”

Mohammed Shami’s wife Hasin Jahan had posted screenshots on her Facebook account, of Shami’s alleged WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger conversations with multiple women. She also uploaded photos and phone numbers of the allegedly involved women, and added that Shami and members of his family had even tried to kill her.

Mohammed Shami claims it is foul-play

Mohammed Shami soon stepped out to label the reports as ‘lies’. He also pressed, that this controversy was a planned affair that was being directed towards the cricketing veteran in a bid to hamper his cricket career. Below is the Tweet from Mohammed Shami’s official account.

Mohammed Shami has played 30 Tests for India, claiming 110 wickets so far. The injury-prone bowler has also appeared in 50 ODIs and seven Twenty20 Internationals, picking up 91 and eight wickets respectively.